Distance and Bearing Calculator (Lat/Long)
Enter the latitude and longitude of two points to calculate the distance between them and the compass bearing from the first to the second.
Last updated: September 5, 2026
Frequently asked questions
What is the haversine formula?
A formula that calculates great-circle distance between two points on a sphere from their latitude and longitude - it accounts for Earth's curvature, unlike a straight-line (flat-map) distance calculation, which becomes increasingly inaccurate over longer distances.
How far is New York from London?
About 5,570 km (3,461 miles) as the crow flies, using their coordinates (40.71°N, 74.01°W) and (51.51°N, 0.13°W).
What does 'bearing' mean?
The compass direction (in degrees, 0-360°, where 0°/360° is north) you'd need to initially head in to travel from the first point toward the second along the great-circle route - it changes continuously along a long route, so this is the bearing only at the starting point.
How accurate is this compared to real-world flight distances?
Within about 0.5%, since it treats Earth as a perfect sphere rather than its actual slightly flattened ellipsoid shape - close enough for virtually all practical distance-estimation purposes, though official aviation navigation uses more precise ellipsoidal models.
Why isn't the great-circle distance the same as a straight line on a flat map?
A flat map distorts distances because it projects a curved 3D surface onto a 2D plane - the true shortest path between two points on a sphere follows a great circle (part of a circle whose center is Earth's center), which usually looks curved, not straight, when drawn on a standard map projection.
Do I need to know the exact altitude or elevation of each point?
No - the haversine formula only uses latitude and longitude and assumes both points sit on Earth's surface at sea level. Elevation differences are negligible compared to Earth's ~6,371 km radius for virtually all distance-estimation purposes.
What's the difference between this and a 'geodesic distance calculator'?
They're closely related - 'geodesic distance' is the more general term for the shortest path on any curved surface, while 'haversine distance' specifically refers to this formula's spherical-Earth approximation. For most everyday distance checks, the two terms are used interchangeably.